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INTERVIEW: Thom Lessner, Will You Be Our Sweatheart?

Ohio native Tom Lessner now lives and plays in Philadelphia. Thom’s parodied cartoon renditions of pop culture figures have become his signature style. Thom is an ardent skateboarder and a rock n’ roll star in the costume-clad band Sweatheart.

Thom has done work for and with POKETO, Shepherd Fairey, and a multitude of magazines. Locally, you can find his work at Philly’s SPECTOR Gallery, but his pieces have traveled to LA, NY, and overseas!

Ben Woodward got the scoop on Thom…

Ben Woodward: Who are you and where did you come from?

I am Thom Lessner. Born June 6, 1977 in Evanston, Illinois. I grew up around there, as well as Columbus, Ohio and Charlotte, North Carolina.

BW: What is the best part of being from Ohio?
TL: I have a good family there and good friends. They’ve all grown up to own bars, skate shops, and art galleries. So it’s a magical town run by my immediate people.

BW: Did you play a lot of music in high school?
TL: Yes, usually with the same 3 or 4 people, usually in pop punk bands that were named Beano, The Roman Look, Evil Underbelly, Sucondies Nuts, The Baldies, Columbus Bandits, The Chili Dogs, The Tailpipes, Speedo Darts, and The Nush.

BW: The Tailpipes is such a good band name!!! Do you remember some good band names from bands in your town?
TL: Music was perfect there when I was 15. The best band name was also the best band…GAUNT.

BW: What was more important as a youth, art or music?
TL: Music absolutely, it still is. I only started drawing and making art because I didnt have to rely on bandmates to do it.

BW: How did you meet Clare Rojass (girlfriend/bandmate)?
TL: We went to the same high school. She dated this dude who liked Little Caesar’s a lot. Thats where I worked, it was kinda the headquarters of my scene then.

BW: Did you spend much time around the University?
TL: That’s where all the magic happened. That’s where the kids go to skateboard, see shows, and buy records. I hung out there as a kid. When everybody around me started going to college there, I continued to make pizza and felt like a pile. So I set out to Philly to try something new.

BW: How did you end up moving to Philadelphia?
TL: I came here a few times to skate and see shows, and had a sister here. Then Clare moved here and told me it was what I needed.

BW: Was there any culture shock when you arrived?
TL: I was a scared puppy. I felt like all you dudes were 20 years ahead of me and wanted to bro down and learn, but was terrified, too.

BW: I know you are a sports lover. Have you had any problems rooting for Ohio teams in a sports crazy town like Philadelphia? Have you stopped loving the Cubs for the Phillie’s?
TL: The team that matters the most to me in Ohio is the Buckeyes, and that’s college football, which is almost nonexistent. I still like the Cubs and the Bears as my dad raised me, but I live in Philly. So I will always root for the Phils or Eagles first, because it’s very exciting to be in a town when your sports team does well.

BW: How did you develop your style? Was it a slow progression, or did one day you just decide to make portraits of bands and superstars?
TL: I started drawing doodles and things, but they always looked like bad art school graffiti. I never went to art school, so it didn’t ever feel right. I began to feel more comfortable with drawing things from reference material. Since I always had music in my head and heart, drawing the bands that inspired me seemed to work for sentimental reasons, too. Same with drawing sports stars. My main rule is to only draw people I personally care for.

BW: How did you end up at Space 1026?
TL: I came to Philly for The Space. I would visit Clare and Andrew Jeffrey Wright for some of the first openings, and it seemed like where I should be. It took me a good year in
Philly to feel comfortable at The Space because I was in such awe and had no confidence in my art at the time.

BW: How did you start working for the Paul Green School of Rock?
TL: I saw them play and was floored. When I had a show at Spector Gallery, they were booked to play outside the opening. Paul saw my work and hired me to make screen-printed posters for their shows. I had no idea how to print, but I told him I did. That’s when you (Ben) bailed me out. My first job for Paul was a run of 4 different 4 color posters, 150 of each. That little bluff forced me to learn to print. (Thanks for the help, Ben!)

BW: What was the genius behind Sweatheart?
TL: We started as a fun project. It was me, Rose, Hot Tanya, and Liz Rywelski. (Liz bailed out before the first practice in order to be our manager.) We played one show at a warehouse & a year later an art opening for Becky Westcott. Then we were hooked.

BW: Where does the name come from?
TL: It was either going to be Sweatheart, No Virgins, 17% Streetwise, 20 Years of Tears, Miami Sweat, or Tracy & Roberta. “Sweatheart” came from a pet name I would call my old girlfriend. She hated it, and I thought it was funny.

BW: How has it changed from when you first started?
TL: Probably sounds a little different, but I still get happy and stress out over the same things, so in that sense, it doesn’t feel like much has changed.

BW: Is it hard to be in a band with your girlfriend?
TL: Yeah, but we make it work the best we can. It causes tension, but also brings us together in a very special way. I wouldn’t wanna do it without her.

BW: I know you have a good following here in Philadelphia. People here love you guys. But what is it like when you play to an audience that has no idea who you are?
TL: It’s always a crap shoot, always. There is never much rhyme or reason to if we bomb it or knock ‘em dead.

BW: Which has more pull over you now, Art or Music?
TL: Music is in my head more, but art comes a little easier. So…both.

BW: What is your new stuff like? Artistically and/or musically?
TL: I’m making a lot of ‘art’ prints from drawings for a show through March at The Bean Cafe. For Sweatheart, we’ve slooooooowly been working on a new record that will someday come out.

BW: Anything else you want to sound off about?
TL: You should buy my shirt and wear it to the Van Halen reunion tour. You would look very cool, and it is a remarkable show.